Residents of Wome, a village in southern Guinea where the first case of Ebola was recorded, were said to have attacked the health workers, local officials and journalists with stones, machetes and clubs last month.
The BBC on Friday reported that villagers have killed a team of eight health workers and journalists who were working to raise awareness about the Ebola Virus Disease in Guinea.
Residents of Wome, a village in southern Guinea where the first case of Ebola was recorded, were said to have attacked the health workers, local officials and journalists with stones, machetes and clubs last month.
Government spokesperson, Albert Damantang Camara, on Thursday said that the victims had been “killed in cold blood by the villagers.”
Some of the bodies, which indicated signs of physical trauma, were reportedly found in a septic tank of a village school near the city of Nzerekore.
Although the exact motives of the killings are unknown, health care workers have previously come under attack by skeptical residents in West Africa who believe the Ebola disease is being spread by health workers and in health care facilities.
Over 700 new cases of Ebola have emerged in West Africa over the past week according to a World Heath Organization (WHO) report on Thursday. The WHO report has listed over 5,300 total cases of EVD in West Africa to date, with half of the cases recorded in the last three weeks alone.
Sierra Leone, one of the countries worst affected by the Ebola disease, is currently on a three-day lock down as part of the government's efforts in sending health inspection teams to all households.